#queelign headcanons

[queelignapologism]

Queelign Headcanons (Part 1?)

AHEM. So. I originally planned for this to be a list of short points but, as usual, got carried away. Curse you, bowl-cut malewife Quee, curse you and your stupidly fascinating potential as a character.

Queelign can sing. This man is voiced by George Blagden who is an amazing singer, and I like to believe that he inherited the same singing talents. He probably never feels the need to use them though - dude is a crusader - but he could be convinced if one rolls 20 in persuasion. Here’s an extract of George for illustration (solo between 1:15 and 1:52)

I think Queelign might often neglect his own health on his quest to purge all of the graceless. I mean, the man invades us in some random place in Belurat and he’s the only crusader presence there as far as I know, so one has to wonder what in the world he was doing here. Was he just… waiting there for some impure heretics to appear? I also like to think that the yellow-ish skin isn’t natural (jaundice?) and might be a result of some kind of liver damage, whether it be a genetic disorder or other causes of cirrhosis/or just some kind of health condition. Not like it’s stopping him from wooping some Tarnished anyways… (source for below : Zullie the Witch on yt)

Queelign opposed the idea of the Specimen Storehouse with a passion. Assuming Salza sided with Hilde in favor of it, we can safely guess that their position is driven by scholarly pursuits. Now, why would Queelign, who is seen actively hunting the graceless even years after the war, and who seemingly has no interest in learning about his ennemies’ ways and customs, want to preserve the culture of those he deems impure and heretical? If anything, their mere existence is a plague to fair mother Marika! Queelign is first and foremost a warrior, bloodthirsty and fanatical, and as such certainly does not care about the specifics of the people he slaughters. And in the end, war ultimately ends up being all that remains of him.

As time went by, I feel like Queelign would have gotten progressively more scared of the dark. Already when we give him an Iris of Occultation in the prayer room, which blocks out light in all its forms, he freaks out and despairs about Marika abandoning him. This is actually the main objective of the Iris, as darkness=forsaken by the Queen, aka the worst fear of any crusader. And Queelign being desperate as he is for grace, he would take his fear a step further by avoiding all places exceedingly dark. I can imagine that when he takes the time to rest, if he ever does that lmao, he’d wish to absolutely have a source of light somewhere to avoid being alone in obscurity.

Queelign definitely admires and looks up to Messmer, the mere fact that he reshaped his greatsword to match his spear is proof enough. He is also a Fire Knight, which means he was ready to abandon whatever high station he had in Leyndell to serve Messmer. Heck, he even wanted to be Messmer 2.0 as a ‘Second Impaler’. However, Queelign also expresses a certain desire to remain pure himself (« I would not. Am I not pure? »), probably in order to get Marika’s favor, I’d assume. This might explain why he is so different from the other Fire Knights we meet in the Shadow Keep, who are all super tall and lanky, have red hair, and a seemingly burnt upper face (much like the regular Messmer soldiers). Although this could totally just be because of the limitations of the player-type NPC models :P

(This is the end, finally 😭)

[katyspersonal]

Okay Queelign just gotten more interesting! So user @ereia-lune brought to my attention what Fire Knights really look like:

Very lanky build with arms going below the knees level, like Messmer's body, and red hair like his / curse of the Fire Giants! Like yeah I know I've written like cool analysis on the Fire Knights as characters but I didn't look at the close ups ( 😔 )

Lore says that Fire Knights continue to use Messmer's Fire incantations after his fire failed to find the purchase in them to still share their bond. So, their physical change is apparently result of like.. kinda consanguineal contract with Messmer but flames instead of blood? Or did he give his flames THROUGH blood? Who knows really gfhthc However, Queelign apparently was spared from it! His body type is neglectelable since he uses base NPC model, but making his hair not red is a very bold implication! Perhaps, him not having the red cape like other Fire Knights is also not just a design choice or just for better dexterity, then!

I wonder why he didn't have such contract.. All jokes about even his allies hating him aside, it might be because of him standing out in his fervor. Fire of Ruin (fire giants fire) is literally said to have been an anathema to the Erdtree and thus was the reason Marika wanted to kill it! So if Messmer carries it on, curse karma course of nature conditions of birth whatever is the reason, how would Queelign, THE Marika fanboy, would've reacted if he had a communion with Messmer only to find out that the force to "cleanse" the world of everything going against Marika/Erdtree originates from something that ALSO goes against them like nothing else? It might be not obvious until you sense it in your body, so sure he'd short-circuit upon such an Insight!

Maybe Messmer was willing to spare both Queelign and himself! Black Knight Andreas and his son Huw rebelled against Messmer after learning about his serpentine nature, but Messmer grieved loss of Huw as brother in arms. Maybe he is at the point mentally where he can't handle losing anymore friends, so he'd cherish each and every one even if that meant keeping some things to himself. And like I said before, Queelign feels very much like a window into Messmer's utmost, maybe long regretted and repressed feelings, he is like a little version of himself! He might be annoyed by it, but at the same time maybe wants to protect the absolutely pure, idealistic, puppy-eyed adoration of Marika and feeling like Queelign IS doing something sacred. If he realized the weapon to protect the Erdtree is in actuality the weapon to destroy it, that'd break him, but maybe Messmer wishes he himself didn't know that about his nature. And could still believe he is Marika's true blade. Why not keep Queelign out of it, if at least one of them can remain naive and love her so much and love their purpose so much?

At the same time, it is funny to think about how Queelign is SO absorbed in his purpose that he doesn't even notice he is not invited in the club! XD And whenever he tries to question it, other Fire Knights just go like 'uhhhh noooo you are imagining things..... :/' gfhgfnjn

_________

P.S.: A simpler explanation is probably that he is just new compared to other Fire Knights and is just yet to earn the proper initiation, .....

P.P.S.:

me: Damn Messmer and Queelign are so interesting and I hate it!!! Shipping material if only Messmer and Rellana weren't married XD

ppl who shipped Rykard and Ghiza: I smell stench of weakness?? 🤔

[headcanontheshitoutofsoulsborne]

Fire Knight Queelign is one of the most annoying people to encounter. Few in Messmer's ranks actually liked him as a person.

[heraldofcrow]

OKAY THIS IS THE LAST ASK FOR TODAY I SWEAR but to continue the archetypes joke: it is kinda imbalanced how I favour Velstadt and you favour Raime & I favour D and you favour Fia, but so far you favour Bloody Crow but I somehow do not actually favour Alfred? Nothing against him, I physically can't hate a FromSLOP character and I still have nice headcanons for him, but I can't really LIKE-like him? There is no attraction? I am ruining the trend?? You need to find a way to hypnotise me into liking Alfred so everything falls into place again lol xD

P.S.: Does this mean you should've liked Ansbach and I shoud've liked Leda had we been normal people?

GIRL STOP IF I KNOW THIS CURSED CYCLE, YOU WILL SUDDENLY FIND SOMETHING TO LIKE IN ALFRED JUST BY ANALYZING HIM MORE TO SEE WHY YOU DON’T CURRENTLY LIKE HIM SKDHDH

Also YES! I should have liked Ansbach more because he had the Bloody Crow-ish helm and cool armor + was a servant of Mohg, and you should have liked Leda for being the religious holy knight simp, but something went wrong and we ended up liking Marika and Messmer more fkgjkd (Queelign for you too, and I lowkey like Thiollier but I’m not talking about that 💀)

[marawhydontyoudraw]

Messmer's flame + headcanons

Various headcanons about the Messmer's flame and its interaction with the surrounding world (mostly the fire knights), developed while working on my SotE story, let's go.

While the flame isn't sentient in the true sense of the word, it has a sort of quasi-awareness that allows it to distinguish friends from foes, track emenies, etc.

The main use of the flame among the crusaders was to burn something (or someone) with it, but this is not the only possible use: it can also be used for healing (or necromancy, if you're determined enough), dispelling illusions, or even protective enchantments.

All these properties can also be applied to Messmer coals, though to a lesser extend. For this reason, for example, adding said coals in food\water can unironically act as a disinfectant. And yes, it is extremely effective against the scarler rot.

Even if I consider exclusively redhaired fire knights models to be a game convention, I support the idea that the Messmer's flame causes mutations in its users. In particular: Kood has serpentine eyes with a vertical iris, Wego is cold-blooded like a reptile, Queelign on the contrary has an extremely high body temprature, Salza's hair actually turned red and that's why he shaves his head, Hilde has scales on her arms and shoulders, etc.

Every high-ranking fire knight should develop a unique incantation/skill based on Messmer's fire as some sort of test. This is their own tradition, never imposed by Messmer himself, though demonstrating those incants/skills to him for approval is a mandatory part of the ceremony.

The flame is contained within Messmer's own blood which can thus be used to permanently enchant weapons with fire, create medicine, or perform any other unethical blood magic experimentation of your choice. If you can convince Messmer to donate you some blood, of course.

[cephalofrog]

lore contemplation about messmer and the crusade

I agree with a youtube video I saw that the crusade probably happened between the march of the tarnished/godfrey being exiled (since messmer knows what a tarnished is) and radagon leaving rennala (since rellana came on the crusade and rennala was lucid enough to give her the hair).

I have a vague theory/headcanon about messmer having been born in the land of shadow, just after marika ascended to godhood. idk how that would work with radagon though. radagon's state of existence is so confusing man like how is he both marika and also related to the fire giants somehow

interesting that messmer is technically a bastard (as in a kid born to a non-married pairing of a monarch). makes me think that would heap upon the reasons for people to dislike him even before the crusade

contemplating the general implied public hatred of messmer makes me sad but I also find it funny. like average people with strong opinions on god-queen marika's stinky nasty oldest kid. "did you know he hangs out with snakes? and uses fire magic? why's he even allowed to have grace? marika should disown him tbh. who even is his father?"

then people who meet him and aren't super devout to the golden order are like oh wait this guy's cool actually

the characterisation of the people who went on the crusade is interesting. you have the implicitly super brutal and cruel people (see: messmer soldier's axe), the super devout people who are all in on the killing everyone without the grace of gold thing (see: queelign), prisoners presumably forced to fight (see: messmer soldier's ashes), and the fire knights who seem to be devoted to messmer himself (see: fire knight's helmet).

considering that death in the land of shadow probably doesn't result in returning to the erdtree (remembrances are hewn into the scadutree, not the erdtree, which is stated to be opposed to the concept of order meaning that the whole honourable erdtree reincarnation thing probably doesn't happen) it kinda makes sense that these are the kinds of people that would end up going

so people who don't care about the golden order and just want to kill and hurt and burn stuff even if that means a dishonourable death

people who are so devout that even dying without grace following a leader who seems kinda dodgy under the erdtree is worth it to murder all these people and make the golden order happy (which explains why some people betrayed messmer upon finding out he was a bit too much of a snake)

(related: wonder if queelign would also betray messmer if he found out he was a snake? I can imagine it happening. or maybe he already knows since he is a fire knight and he's just cool with it)

prisoners who don't really get a choice in the matter (not the worst warcrime committed by messmer)

and people who aren't really dedicated to the golden order as much as they are just friends with messmer like 'well if you're gonna go do a crusade and genocide a bunch of people we'll come along but we will also insist on preserving their culture. also are you okay man? like seriously'

[queelignapologism]

Thoughts on queelign x captain kood? I'm writing a fanfic

Oml you are??? I could cry rn 😭

Definitely an interesting ship, it’s just a shame we know so little about Kood in canon apart from the winged helm description :( But them being the only two fire knights to drop impaling-themed ashes of war upon defeat… One being vertical and the other horizontal… Mhmmmm 👀

To me, Kood and Queelign seem to somewhat complete eachother, one being a childish and naive version of Messmer, the other being pretty much the opposite, aka a responsible adult who is closer to the current Messmer. I think this could lead to a pretty interesting dynamic, maybe with Kood trusting Queelign because of the obvious sincerity of his devotion and Queelign respecting Kood because of his proximity to Messmer, and by extension the large role he plays in the carrying out of Marika’s will. It’s hard to see Queelign adore anyone more than Marika however, as it looks like he devotes everything he does in his life to her alone (« All this time, I held in my heart only thee! »). So I kinda feel like his opinion of others would be based on their attitude to Marika 🤷🏻‍♀️

Because of that, I could see feelings being pretty one-sided, with Queelign being too focused on Marika to really notice anyone else. But maybe that doesn’t rule out the possibility? Maybe one day, the idiot blondie will realize that a certain captain has lost about thirty years of his lifetime (if those are even a thing in Elden Ring) stressing out over him disappearing for a few days to kill random Tarnished kilometers away from the Keep?

Also, as many have pointed out (including @katyspersonal who I very much admire) Queelign is the only Fire Knight not to have any physical alterations (long arms, burnt face) or any red hair. As such, maybe Kood and the others see him as someone to protect? Someone whose « purity » hasn’t been tainted by Messmer’s curse? I could imagine Kood being careful with the tasks assigned to him, or maybe even comforting him when hope begins to dim like when we meet him again in the Church District.

Ssjsbdndnskdj I have so many thoughts about them I’m rambling. Once again, most of this is just headcanon cuz we know absolutely nothing about Kood :| Do let me know about the progress of your fanfic!! Any form of Queelign content is GENEROUSLY appreciated :3 Bonus: Queelign being a short king

(Source : EldenRing Fights on yt)

[katyspersonal]

Queelign for the ask meme pls lmao

That terrible, terrible man....

(Asks from this ( x ) meme)

Favorite thing about them:

The way he is basically suppressed, or lost, little version of Messmer! It is not just that he modelled his weapon after his spear and aspires to be like him, but also the way he speaks of Marika and feels about her! He is very infatuated, loyal and oddly.... naive, considering the context! I absolutely feel like he reflects that more hopeful, more puppy-eyed child Messmer doesn't get to be. Untouched by curse or hatred of abandoned child. I love when character serves like a window into someone else too!

Ignoring this narrative nonsense that I am probably just hallucinating, I just love how sensitive he is. Seeing how he sounds passionate or pathetic or both, I expected him to be a young man, but he is listed as 'mature'! So he is like, around 40! I love me a male who doesn't lose his sensitivity with age... to better or worse. In a better turn of events, he'd be a great poet, I can tell this. :pensive:

Least favorite thing about them:

This is a pain to explain but whereas I love how religious-fanatical he is, I ALSO hate it? He captivated me from the first invasion (as much as I didn't want to admit it), but also I read Crusade Insignia description and was like "ohhhhhh FUCK I reeeeally hate this guy already!!!" hfhghh I suppose, it is fair to be conflicted? He falls for the type of the characters you love in fiction but would dread to meet in real life!!

Favorite line:

"Queen Marika, behold! I have excised another. Another cancer to thy joy." This kind of made me uneasy XD How he is this pathetic and this scary at the same time?

brOTP:

I feel like he and Moonrithyll would be friends! ….that are constantly bickering with each other. XD Whereas he is very fixated on Messmer and aspires to be like him, with Moonrithyll it is similar with Rellana! Rellana believes that sky and fire should be together, after all, and Moonrithyll respects trolls as descendants of Fire Giants more than she does as just loyal friends to Carians.

But whereas things between Messmer and Rellana are very good and settled, Moonrithyll constantly lets the attitude of "pledging to the Erdtree was a cringe phase for us, at least thanks to Messmer we are soooo back baby 😎" slide. Before Queelign. *million skull emojis* But despite them often fighting, they are not enemies. In fact, maybe frienemies? They have long conversations (mostly about their leages lol) that they enjoy a lot, and they have fun... until one of them says something they really should agree to disagree on already. -_- Queelign doesn't because he is too petty to not remind everyone how he is the only one to "really" respect Marika, Moonrithyll doesn't because she is honest to a fault!

OTP:

I actually really like to think about him and Messmer? Help me??

^^^ Messmer and Rellana are canonically a thing, apparently, so it is somewhere in AU drawer... but still!! There are just... a lot of things between them.

^^^ Queelign is the only Fire Knight that seems to have been "spared" by Messmer's curse; he doesn't have red hair and trademark red cape! And I like to think this is deliberate. That Messmer cherishes his "innocence", seeing him as little naive version of self. He could not take that away from Queelign, nor ruin the hair color so golden, nor he wants Queelign's heart to break upon learning that true nature of Messmer's Flame comes from something existing as anathema to the Erdtree.. He never got to be a person so blinded with faith in Marika's love, but he can allow Queelign to be this...

At the same time, Messmer pities him sometimes. He sometimes feel bitter and hurt when Queelign goes on the rant about Marika's "boundless love" and "sure return someday" and wants to snap at Queelign. He has dark enjoyment pushing Queelign to think of dread of Marika's hatred and neglect and watch him break down and cry, as Messmer is almost dead inside nor he physically can have tears. He wants him to cry for them both. He also wants to comfort him. He is uncomfortable with Queelign wanting to be just like him. He also finds solace in it because Queelign gets to be a version that isn't cursed. He cherishes his naivete. He also sometimes wants to obstruct this little sunshine and curse him too but restrains himself. There are many conflicting feelings.

And yeah, it looks a bit one-sided, right? :p Messmer has such an internal conflict over Queelign, whereas the other just admires him and thinks being like him is epitome of a proper Marika's follower. But all Fire Knights know Messmer very well, and he is not an exception. Queelign is very insistent on Marika's holiness and perfection with anyone else, but when Messmer allows his suppressed hatred and knowing Marika will never embrace them again slide? Queelign argues for his sake and not hers. He genuinely hates to see him despair. The contrast between Queelign being very sensitive and Messmer becoming oddly cold for a fire wielder is also fun x)

They have a lot of tension between them most of the time, but deep down they both know. Messmer is not stingy with affectionate words for people he trusts and values, and Queelign is no more afraid to disagree with him than one would with a very moody friend. He can tell that he has special rights even compared with other Fire Knights despite not being given direct "communion" with his flame, and when Messmer tells him it is because he cherishes him the way he is, Queelign believes that.

nOTP:

Either I live under a rock or fandom is yet to invent ships for Queelign to BEGIN with. xD I legit don't know which ship for him would be bad? I'll know it when I see it, I suppose...?

Random headcanon:

He constantly fucks up cooking. Like, there is no way he doesn't ruin his meals. When it is not misinterpreting recipe or adding too much due to simple clumsiness, it is that he got distracted or lost in thoughts about Marika's grace. 🙄 Every time he is determined that he WILL focus and do it right, and every time he fails. When things are inedible, like, it is charcoal or looks dangerous, he resorts to making puppy eyes to other Fire Knight so they share their food with them gghkugg They are used to it! Hilde even used to cook a bit more dinner than she needed, fully expecting him to drop by!

Unpopular opinion:

Look, I do like jokes about his haircut, I am not humorless! AND I love this cursed image from Reddit proving "that he only looks bad because of his haircut":

( x ) gfhghgb but- I disagree with allowing it to brush an interesting character aside!! Jokes are fun, but making whole character a joke isn't 😔💔 He deserves his place amongst other "fanatics who simpmaxx" like Lautrec, Alfred and Leda, and should have many bitches same as THEM!!

Song I associate with them:

Ironically, not the depth of introspection I see him reaching any time soon.

Favorite picture of them:

I can't really find Queelign fanart, let alone chosing a favourite tbh.. Myself, I have like, four WIPs featuring him, but you know me, I finish like two drawings per year at BEST. Scarlet Rot Depression eaten away my artist poweeerrrr...

Thank you for asking!! Lmao I can't shut up about this man

[katyspersonal]

So like... thoughts on Messmer's crew? Not the man himself, just the guys he hired.

I actually found the remaining two Fire Knights just recently! :D I didn't post about it yet, but I assume this is all of them! ...I hope. Shadow's Keep has too many turns. Who knows.

This is sweet how they all are close with Messmer and stood with him no matter what.... Unlike THESE traitors:

(Sorry I forgot to copy the screenshots so have bad phone images fshhds) Like @heraldofcrow said earlier, it is really stupid how they could accept like genocides and whatever but drew the line at him being a snake sdfhfghds Well, Fire Knights definitely didn't!

Queelign was the first one I've met, and apparently in the wrong order since I missed him in Belurat and had to go back there! And I instantly hated that zealot, even before I had the picture of what exactly Fire Knights were!

^ As if Queelign's dialogue was not enough, he also dropped THIS! The reason I will ALWAYS respect Miyazaki no matter what is that he always finds the way to throw a jab at this particular grudge at human race fsdhfdsh

He is still a terrible person, but since then I warmed up to him when I've found some potential in him! He is not only the most fleshed out from the Fire Knights, but also in JUST the right way! He is very passionate and fanatical, but also very genuine and naive with his feelings. And he not only wants to be like Messmer, but also has very strong fixation on Marika! Like I keep joking, she is such a bad mother that even people who aren't her children have mommy issues over her fhhdsf

But he also, interestingly, reflects that weaker, childish part of Messmer that still wants his mom to love him. Whereas Messmer is at least good at repressing it, with Queelign it is completely loose and earnest, and the guy is probably not aware! He IS like a little version of himself in this way.. Not sure whether Messmer dislikes him, or pities him, or maybe at least several times told him to NOT try to be like him! In any case, it is really cool how there is the guy who gives that interesting insight. You could write headcanons essays on the psychology between Queeling and Messmer, or just Queelign. I wrote an essay on what could transpire if Tarnished healed him instead (I believe he dies when we find him, from deadly wounds since we only access his chamber after beating him twice).

Like, you can work with this character, you see what I mean? I never found a similar rambling potential in, say, Alfred or Lautrec. They're religious fanatics too, yet that was exactly ALL I could tell about them. MEANWHILE I've made like FIVE posts about Queelign already and they are all substancial! And, boy, any writer WANTS a strictly cruel, fanatical, irredeemable, negative character to give something to talk about besides just kicking the topic of them being bad. If you are writer, remember to similarly give the topics of discussion to your villains! I agree with what Izunia said earlier:

+ Correction though: Petrus does NOT belong in the list of fanatics xd He has opposite problem! He is a selfish, opportunistic, corrupt, cowardly parasite that benefits from the religious institution and doesn't actually HAVE any beliefs he will kill and die for. He kills for his benefit, like how he killed Reah after her being rescued clearly so she would not rat him out, ie risk his position as elite cleric! There is a good reason why of all cleric/religious/etc characters he is the only one who has no simps!

This guy kicked my ass a couple of times, but if Fire Knights are Messmer's most important people, that makes him second most important person in his army? ...okay third, after his wife Rellana fsdjhdfhssd Really clever how only the captain wears a helmet fashioned after this creature, since he keeps Messmer's military forces in check here

1) I also assume that the "loneliness" Wego experienced was from having outlived the people he held dear as not only being in the military but also elder! Because why else would he be strictly lonely, if he has friends within the covenant? Like look right here, he had a pupil! :p 2) This implies that disagreeing with Messmer was a huge risk.. but not only Messmer spared him, but also actually listened to his request!

So basically, Salza is okay with burning people and their homes, but he draws the line at destruction of like, culture, knowledge and ancient architecture fshfds And not he alone:

It were Fire Knights who asked Messmer to have the Specimen Storehouse, so there is at least historical remains about the species they destroyed! So as funny as the double standard looks, it makes a lot of sense; like it was mentioned earlier, all Fire Knights were nobles at the Erdtree! Of course they have it internalised to preserve culture and knowledge for the future! They all had to be well-educated and well-cultured people, not sympathising with the type of hatred that aims to erase as much as history! And at the same time, being educated didn't help them to consider not participating in the HoLy cRuSaDe to begin with..

And this is so human. It is very realistic. There is a lingering misconception that it is ignorance, poor quality of living, low class, bad past or all at once that makes people prone to crime, but in reality there are criminals in every class and every demographic. We should not attribute the root of all evil, crimes and harmful prejudices only to concrete group, because this is always just a matter of multiple people gathering and deciding to do something. When it is not mistreatment and despair that drives people to evil, it is power and corruption, because people ARE evil by nature.

_______________

So yeah, I really like what they did with this covenant! They did well with giving the sense of each of them being an individual by naming and distinguishing five characters like this! For Soulsborne games, this is rich x) They have some tweaks to their outfits or weapons, they have characterisation that makes them unlike each other, and THIS is what's wild; how so many people that clearly can and always could think for themselves ended up here! Queelign too! I could speculate that Alfred has been indoctrinated and brainwashed since young age, or that Lautrec lost his marbles after some sort of grasp by Fina, but Queelign apparently was no less of a noble that decided to go like his peers, nor he'd be any more embraced by Marika than everyone else with grace! He is Just Like This fshdfhs

They made the covenant very real an interesting. (Also rich for creating OCs if you like writing awful people and want to be close with Messmer 😔)

[katyspersonal]

Here’s a triple whammy, Midra, Messmer, Rellana for the character bingo pls?

( @izunias-meme-hole )

Ohh bitchin'

God I just.. I will have to try to not turn it into an essay for your SANITY (ba dum tss) but in simplest terms possible, this was THE peak DLC experience for me. The Abyssal Woods already were super interesting and atmospheric, as well as learning that Midra is a NERD with so many books all over his Manse. But like.. the battle already captivated me a lot. It was just.. so well-done in every aspect. The music, the movements and attacks... No boss ever deserved the staple "battle feels like a dance once you get into it" praise more than this guy. ;-; I already was not normal about Frenzied Flame in general, but this just dhfssdfg It was so well executed god. Remember being OBSESSED with his music theme, also the first character in a while to make me often check his character tag on Tumblr. @val-of-the-north won't let me lie, I was literally drooling thinking about him in the first few days after that fight and could not think of anyone else @_@

Also I really enjoyed digging further into his story and motivations, what happened here with the Three Fingers and Nanaya. Analysis of the whole SoTe for me. This brand of despair also appeals to me at all, especially when it is tied to you and your associates being hunted like heretics (only the old ones remember!!! XD). Funny enough, just the day before I've met him in the game I've had a very unique mental breakdown where I was ranting like a madman about how much I've tired of holding the horrors and pain inside and how I wanted to just give up and unleash it. I can't get into too much details, it was very personal, however the phrase "May chaos take the world" was stuck in my head all along! And Val mentioned that 'interestingly enough, a theme like this IS addressed in SoTE' + 'you kin one of the characters for sure' so... yeah, that was something. I needed a character like this quite a lot :')

Messmer is AWESOME!! I do not obsess actively but rather just reblog the fanart and stuff that gets on my dashboard, but there are SO many things I said as my thoughts about his and Marika's relationship. And now I have even more to say! You could tell I love Midra more, but Messmer offers infinitely more to talk about and explore! And, god, his charisma, having attracted so many intelligent people to join him and even accept his serpentine nature (apparently a big no for people in the setting for some reason fdjjfds). Also one of the best designs in the Soulsborne series EVER. Also it is his voice actor's DEBUT! Literally HOW????? sfhdjhsdhgfdshds

It IS, for sure, hard to talk about him and not touch upon MANY other characters as he is tied with them so much. Marika, Melina, Fire Knights (especially Queelign), closest Black Knights that ditched him, Rellana, Gaius, Winged Snakes, god knows who else... I love how many relationship he has, but also what interesting potential he opened for exploring the lore with Abyss, Base Serpent and potentially Fell God! He is so many things. And I think this is appropriate how hard it is to discuss him outside of his relationships and curses... It is just like the character himself: having his life and purpose in it basically predefined by a curse he had no control over and his mother, and being a scourge or an idol for others, but barely being a person on his own... Discussions about him are JUST like him, you see what I mean? This also makes me emotional.

I do not have that many headcanons about her, but I am proud of those that I have! x) There is always the room to create more of course! Ok naturally 'everyone else is wrong about them' is not meant to be taken seriously fdshfhds But a big cornerstone for understanding her was the description of her swords referring to Moon and Fire having always been together in Japanese original script, which is just the sentiment from Sword of Night and Flame! So I can no longer see her as huge Erdtree/Marika simp at all, but instead as someone who, although without any hard feelings for her sister's choice, believes Cosmic Sorcery and Fire should be together (again) which makes me look at other takes like:

Just the curse of getting brain hard-locked on your interpretation fdshfhds On another note, I fucking LOVE her design, I am NOT able to enjoy any other armour anymore and just want to wear hers all the time fhhfsd 'Silly' because Twin Moons IS a silly concept, as well as cosplaying Sulyvahn XD ...but also because I see her as silly and fun person, to contrast Messmer's emo vibe x) Smug about kicking asses too! She gives me this strange feeling too, like... I can accept most of the bosses having to die for the plot and narrative, but thinking about her getting killed actually upsets me! She is an optional boss and should STAY as such. #rellanaplslive

[rhea-tori]

I headcannon kood to be like a grumpy old man and queelign is a little shit who he has to wrangle but he secretly adores how wild and unbound queelign is.

Queelign would also develop the nickname koo koo for kood and at first he hates it but eventually hearing it makes his heart race and his face heat up

Also considering adding smut but idk

I really like your takes and those of the person you tagged in the post, I might use some of them

Thoughts on queelign x captain kood? I'm writing a fanfic

Oml you are??? I could cry rn 😭

Definitely an interesting ship, it’s just a shame we know so little about Kood in canon apart from the winged helm description :( But them being the only two fire knights to drop impaling-themed ashes of war upon defeat… One being vertical and the other horizontal… Mhmmmm 👀

To me, Kood and Queelign seem to somewhat complete eachother, one being a childish and naive version of Messmer, the other being pretty much the opposite, aka a responsible adult who is closer to the current Messmer. I think this could lead to a pretty interesting dynamic, maybe with Kood trusting Queelign because of the obvious sincerity of his devotion and Queelign respecting Kood because of his proximity to Messmer, and by extension the large role he plays in the carrying out of Marika’s will. It’s hard to see Queelign adore anyone more than Marika however, as it looks like he devotes everything he does in his life to her alone (« All this time, I held in my heart only thee! »). So I kinda feel like his opinion of others would be based on their attitude to Marika 🤷🏻‍♀️

Because of that, I could see feelings being pretty one-sided, with Queelign being too focused on Marika to really notice anyone else. But maybe that doesn’t rule out the possibility? Maybe one day, the idiot blondie will realize that a certain captain has lost about thirty years of his lifetime (if those are even a thing in Elden Ring) stressing out over him disappearing for a few days to kill random Tarnished kilometers away from the Keep?

Also, as many have pointed out (including @katyspersonal who I very much admire) Queelign is the only Fire Knight not to have any physical alterations (long arms, burnt face) or any red hair. As such, maybe Kood and the others see him as someone to protect? Someone whose « purity » hasn’t been tainted by Messmer’s curse? I could imagine Kood being careful with the tasks assigned to him, or maybe even comforting him when hope begins to dim like when we meet him again in the Church District.

Ssjsbdndnskdj I have so many thoughts about them I’m rambling. Once again, most of this is just headcanon cuz we know absolutely nothing about Kood :| Do let me know about the progress of your fanfic!! Any form of Queelign content is GENEROUSLY appreciated :3 Bonus: Queelign being a short king

(Source : EldenRing Fights on yt)

[katyspersonal]

First,

Second, these are all really good thoughts, I love them so much! ;-; I was also thinking about this ship, actually!

And yes, I agree how it is frustrating that Kood doesn't have a personality besides just being a head of the Fire Knights! We have Hilde who was the most insistent on preserving knowledge about Hornsent for the history, old necromancer Wego who whines about having no friends despite them being here including his apprentice Salza (xDDD), sagely Salza himself whose intellect is apparently his biggest thing and who revels in burning villages but then despises barbarism (sure whatever you say dude..... 💀) and Queelign who is somehow both ray of sunshine of the group and the most horrifying and fanatical about Crusade at the same time! But Kood is like.... he is just there too I guess...

But maybe this exact thing IS what could be used to characterize him more? Whereas other (named) Fire Knights stand out and do their individual thing, Kood just guards the entrance to Messmer! So what if Kood is number one Messmer's yes-man? Queelign devotes his all to Marika, and sees Messmer as his role model because Messmer is as much of the blade of Marika's "justice" as one can get in his eyes! But Kood just likes Messmer x) It isn't really about Marika.

So he would be the one breaking fights the most often, and often "on Messmer's behalf"! Like, someone expresses even a slight insubordination or doesn't seem passionate and enthusiastic for the Crusade "enough" today, and Kood will verbally obliterate them XD To the point sometimes even Messmer himself is like "man calm down, I am not that insulted 🤦‍♂️" hfhtjdhhg Kood enjoys his position of the leader and takes it very seriously. He knows the name and habits of every Knight, can instantly spot if someone's faith starts to vane and motivate them (usually with threats xD), knows every Knight's birthday and likes to organize events when appropriate! (I don't know if you guys watched the show Wander over Younder, but honestly halfway through typing this I realized he gives me major Mayor Peepers vibe XD)

So yeah, he would be skeptical about Queelign for a while! Kood would be the "Oh, so you like Messmer? Name every single obscure fact about him" regarding Queelign and be the judge of how "worthy" he is of taking after him! Kood is especially strict to him, teasing him like "You think Messmer's devotion to exterminating all spurn of Marika's grace is his main trait, hmm?", making Queelign blush from embarrasment and enjoying the sight of Queelign trying to come up with what else he likes in Messmer.. and getting more and more heated, summoning more and more details from his memory, much to Kood's satisfaction. Though Kood could at times ask Queelign whether he is even aware how much Messmer is suffering because of her, or why the FUCK does Quelign THINK all Marika statues have heads destroyed. It would, or course, spawn heated conflict, because Queelign refuses to take the implications that Messmer has some grudges towards 💫 her 💫..

Meanwhile, I agree that Queelign's obsession with Marika is a massive roadblock for his feelings! When Queelign has a crush on someone, he sure won't even realize it until much later.. because he is fixated on the idea that he can only love Marika... 🙄 Of course, intense religious reverence is not the same as loving a fellow human (or equivalent of such), so he can fall in love! He just won't understand how much he cares for someone until actions start to speak for him and someone points it out :p I swear bro could lay in bed with someone he just had sex with and be like "wow I sure love being so close with my FRIEND who ALSO simps only for MARIKA like me!" At the same time, Kood I think would not quite understand just how much of a blockhead Queelign can be about these things!

Their relationship would be quite a slow burn from arguing and Kood being quite strict on Queelign to mutually warming up to each other, but I imagine lack of communication! Kood would think it was obvious that they're into each other and are a pair, Queelign would never think of it until directly asked. And he would be so, so embarrassed... Maybe even get angry and yell at him for daring to think he could have his eyes on anyone when he already gives everything to Marika! ..and then actually think about everything up until this point in some sleepless night like "😳 wow I was into him this whole time?". I like that they have fuel for conflicts already, conflicts are healthy! But they also have capacity for offering good things to each other; Kood I can imagine a very good person for helping Queelign to "mature" and swallow the hard truths through his idealistic delusions, and Queelign could instead help the always-tense Kood relax, look at things that stress him through simpler lense and dream with the way he sees things <:3

Anyways thank you soooo much @queelignapologism and @rhea-tori I wish you all the inspiration and energy for your fanfic!!

Thoughts on queelign x captain kood? I'm writing a fanfic

Oml you are??? I could cry rn 😭

Definitely an interesting ship, it’s just a shame we know so little about Kood in canon apart from the winged helm description :( But them being the only two fire knights to drop impaling-themed ashes of war upon defeat… One being vertical and the other horizontal… Mhmmmm 👀

To me, Kood and Queelign seem to somewhat complete eachother, one being a childish and naive version of Messmer, the other being pretty much the opposite, aka a responsible adult who is closer to the current Messmer. I think this could lead to a pretty interesting dynamic, maybe with Kood trusting Queelign because of the obvious sincerity of his devotion and Queelign respecting Kood because of his proximity to Messmer, and by extension the large role he plays in the carrying out of Marika’s will. It’s hard to see Queelign adore anyone more than Marika however, as it looks like he devotes everything he does in his life to her alone (« All this time, I held in my heart only thee! »). So I kinda feel like his opinion of others would be based on their attitude to Marika 🤷🏻‍♀️

Because of that, I could see feelings being pretty one-sided, with Queelign being too focused on Marika to really notice anyone else. But maybe that doesn’t rule out the possibility? Maybe one day, the idiot blondie will realize that a certain captain has lost about thirty years of his lifetime (if those are even a thing in Elden Ring) stressing out over him disappearing for a few days to kill random Tarnished kilometers away from the Keep?

Also, as many have pointed out (including @katyspersonal who I very much admire) Queelign is the only Fire Knight not to have any physical alterations (long arms, burnt face) or any red hair. As such, maybe Kood and the others see him as someone to protect? Someone whose « purity » hasn’t been tainted by Messmer’s curse? I could imagine Kood being careful with the tasks assigned to him, or maybe even comforting him when hope begins to dim like when we meet him again in the Church District.

Ssjsbdndnskdj I have so many thoughts about them I’m rambling. Once again, most of this is just headcanon cuz we know absolutely nothing about Kood :| Do let me know about the progress of your fanfic!! Any form of Queelign content is GENEROUSLY appreciated :3 Bonus: Queelign being a short king

(Source : EldenRing Fights on yt)